The Flame of the Ocean
by SkyBow
Summary: When the simple task of bringing her brother back home in many ways ends up more complicated than it should have, Ágnes, this eighteen years old lass has to face reality in its deadliest form, as she falls straight into the chain of events, that could forever change the world for the worse. Just how many scars can a soul take, before it collapses from the pain?
1. Episode One - Call of the Ocean

_**Author's note:  
**_ Hiyya people, welcome to the Flame of the Ocean! Now, I originally wrote this story in Hungarian, but I have decided to finally translate it down to English by myself, so some mistakes are bound to show up here and there. Please, do not be afraid to point them out, I'd really like to be able to eliminate these problems in the future! :3  
I first started this story as a sort of practice session to hone my writing skills, so early on I had absolutely no idea of what to expect from the plot, hence the short Episode One. Just went along with the flow of the narrative, until I eventually managed to build up a working storyline after the events of Episode 2.  
Hope you'll enjoy it!

 _ **The Flame of the Ocean**_

 **Episode 1**

 _ **The Call of the Ocean**_

 _"Tales and stories have always been loyal partners of humanity throughout history. Legends and myths were passed on, songs and chants of angelic choirs warmed the hearts of people, and the quiet whispering of gossips and rumors flew along with the wind. Just like hasty flames, these works, which have immortalized these events, spread across the world on a daring quest to consume most of this earthly soil. Thousands of men and women love to read such fables, but how must it feel like to be actually part of one? Wonder if those, whom such anecdotes are conjured of, ever thought, that odes will be telling their heroic deeds to the ears of the next generation?"_

A story just like this was about to unfold its entangled threads, whose hero was a young woman, or more likely just a mere girl, as it was only eighteen years ago when she first saw of this world. Not a special person, not by a long shot. Her father was a simple blacksmith, while her mother was working at the local tavern. She has had an older brother, but sadly, he was forced to flee the country he called his home. A few years back, he was caught in a shady conflict with the empire that have held together the whole continent since age untold, and so in order to escape the merciless nature of death, he had no other choice, but to take a boat and leave for the wild archipelagos.

The rich landmasses of the Meridian Ocean have always been resistant to the greedy hunger of this iron fist, and so the lawless nature of these calm waters proved to be the perfect shield for anyone who sought the freedom of the endless blue skies.

At the end of a long and busy day, news came to the family at sunset, informing them that someone issued a major bounty on the head of their one and only son. After the brief shock, her parents immediately ordered Ágnes to go and find her dear brother at all costs and bring him back to the safety of the warm hearth at last, before it would be too late to act. She did not have any questions or qualms, neither doubts nor hesitation. The life of her brother was at stake here, she understood that much, and was ready to give in all the strength she could offer to complete the task that was set out for her.

When the sun once again rose above the horizon, she put on her favorite clothes - a red shirt with red pants, which had numerous patches on it already -, and set out for the big world, but not before biding farewell to her loving family. Her first stop was the neighboring port, where she had high hopes for finding a suitable transport to the archipelagos.

The city was bursting with life. Hundreds of people walked the dusty roads, some of them were carrying bags and even large wooden boxes on their shoulders, working like ants to have at least a bit of a coin on the table. Loud echoes of clattering hooves filled the air as carriages rushed through the streets, all while keen-eyed seagulls cried out along with the bells of the harbor, composing an unforgettable symphony that no orchestra could ever emulate. The scent of salty water have enveloped the very being of the girl, and she had a strange feeling, that if she boards one of these ships right now, she will never be able to wash off this uncanny smell from her body. She felt so that she will never be able to let go of the sea ever again... and that neither will the sea let go of her...

Nevertheless, she pushed aside these wavering thoughts that were distracting her, and continued on. Dust and mud have crawled up on her smooth, bare feet, as she ran through the docks looking for a bulletin board or an advertisement, something that would lead her to a suitable vessel, but all of her efforts were in vain. There was a whole armada of ships floating helplessly on the playful waves, but none of them fulfilled the desire of her young heart. Only a small merchant brig was available, about to transport some valuable goods to the Onyx Archipelago. A fine choice, if not for one major problem... Say what you will, the merchants are unlike your common ferries, they do not transport people. But what else choice was available for her to choose from? Without any other options left to be considered, Ágnes took a few steps towards an unusually bulky man, who was seemingly ordering everyone around, and tried to apply for a one-way trip to the ocean. The captain was more than surprised of the sudden encounter, but he had still denied the girl's senseless request. Ágnes received this with harsh, mixed feelings of loss and anger. She kept on asking him again and again, but eventually it all came down to desperate begging. Even so, the captain was adamant not to allow lazy kids to step on board.

Of course, she could always turn her back on them, leave and try to find some other way to the ocean, but at that time, the chance for this possibility was still unclear for her, shrouded in the haze of doubt. Unforeseen, Ágnes' mind was engulfed by a sudden outburst of fury and rage. How will she be able to complete any of her goals in life, if she were to fail right at the start? She turned around and stepped to a small crate in an attempt to lift it. She wanted to prove to the man in front of her, that she is not helpless, a spoiled child no longer, but a valuable and hard-working person, who could help around the ship over the course of their travel. The captain got curious - and slightly amused -, as he watched Ágnes' desperate struggle against the wooden crate... which despite its seemingly low volume was filled to the brim with heavy clothing ready to be sold at the end of the route. He saw the determination in her eyes, the lonely teardrop of desperation, which has escaped onto the surface, yet against all seriousness, he let out a small, almost unnoticeable chuckle upon seeing the girl's futile attempts in even budging the crate.

"Get on board!" called to her at last with his deep, yet warm, fatherly voice. He was still not in favor of the idea of bringing her along, but judging by her actions, whatever her motives may be; her wish is indeed genuine. "The route will be a week long, food and drink bare minimal, daily fifteen coins payment, if you do valid work. Will you accept it?"

Out of pure surprise, the girl did not even understand at first what the aging has man said. When she at last came to the realization of the fact that she was accepted, she just smiled at her new captain and wiped off the sparkling teardrops from her beautiful face. After that, it did not even take half an hour for the ship to finally be done loading and raise the anchor from the depths of crowded bay. Ágnes stood on the stern of the ship, staring at the slowly fading town behind them. The winds played with her crimson red hair, as she once again bid farewell to her parents, this time only in her thoughts. The journey will be long and time is of the essence. The chance of finding her brother decreased with each day, she knew that, making this seemingly already impossible task even harder to accomplish.

"The Meridian Ocean..." she mumbled to herself in a quiet tone, so that no one else would hear it, and then smiled upon the clouds. "I am coming for you, you dummy!"


	2. Episode Two - The detour

_**Episode 2**_

 **The detour**

The brig, as it was promised, would sail the waves of the ocean for seven days and six nights, yet the girl's motivation broke right at the sunrise of the fourth day. Even before that, she had realized that this harsh kind of transportation was not made for her to endure. Ágnes' first day at work was spent with carrying crates and tying them down inside of the hold, however the weak knots quickly came undone by the push of a strong wave, so another unforgiving tying session had follow. The third day was the most peaceful, but the captain was true to his words, and so the girl was issued only with a minimal amount of daily supplies, barely enough not to starve or stay hydrated. She felt tired and weak; her once strong resolve was fading away.

On the fourth day, when the waves had calmed down, she was ordered to wash up the deck. It was a rather large ship compared to the ones she saw at the port, with two gigantic masts reaching towards the sky in an attempt to tear down the clouds. That was her perspective at the very least, as her body was nothing more than a flea to this huge vessel. She has thought that the sun would set long before her work would be even half done. Whatever hard job it might have been, she has had a suspicion, that there was just no purpose for what she was doing. She only got that old, dusty rag into her hands so that she would not be a simple nuisance who is lazing around the clock. Weakened and roasted under the hot sun, she staggered to the rails on the port side of the ship. She has lain down on the wood with her chest, removing her body's weight from her tired legs.

Staring at a faraway island in the fading distance, Ágnes was startled by the sound of the huge splash that the anchor has made. Looking over her left shoulder, she saw the hard-working sailors, who were already lowering the rowboats down onto the water, with a huge grin on their faces.

"Are we porting?" she asked curiously, lifting her right eyebrow. It's not even the end of the promised week!

"Restocking." The captain appeared so suddenly behind her, that Ágnes almost jumped straight off the deck. "That island over there has lots of sweet fruits, which we often sell for a nice profit boost. Would you perhaps be interested in helping them out?" he smiled while pointing at the crew. "Of course, whatever loots you may grab a hold onto; we'll let you keep a portion of it, as payment."

Ágnes instantly considered the offer. She either stays here and continues to scrub this rotten piece of wood, or takes some leisure time on a tropical island, with a possible chance for more food on the plate tonight... Hundreds of thoughts and plans have flown through her mind, as she imagined herself on that warm, relaxing and sandy beach.

"Or..." The man slowly bent down for the ripped, wet textile piece, and he put it once again into the hands of his diligent worker. "You could just stay aboard for some extra coin instead."

The girl did not need to think any more on the matter, she immediately chose the relaxing vacation - which she thought she deserved quite well - and took a step to the away crew that will be setting their foot on the island. Unfortunately, she took too long of a wait even as it was, and the two boats were already down between the waves, and so were the men. Every time they were passing on this route, the crew chose five willing sailors per boat to forage for twenty crates of the juiciest and sweetest food they can just find there, but the lineup of volunteers never really changed.

A quiet laughter could have been heard from away team, as they looked upon the girl who was cluelessly standing above them.

"How will I ever get down there?" asked herself Ágnes in a worrying tone.

"Well, there'd be a quick solution!" exclaimed the first mate, who was now standing besides her. Most of the time he too went foraging with his mates, as the leader of the operation, but this time he just did not feel like stepping down from the ship. He then put his hand on Ágnes' shoulder. "You know how to swim?"

" Well, yes..." she answered sheepishly."...but I don't see wh-"

She did not even finish her own sentence by the time she had found herself floating in mid-air, with the solid ground robbed away from her. She let out scared shriek by instinct, then, only in matter of seconds, the waves have swallowed her body as a whole. The splash she made was greater than that of the anchor's, but the loud laughter that had engulfed the ship was something even bigger. Every sailor, from the ship to the boats, who saw the hilarious event were laughing at the girl's unfortunate turn of events, and no one considered pulling her out of the water just yet. The first mate was the one who enjoyed it the most, but the cheerful smile on his face froze in an instant, as he came to notice two strong grips on his arm.

"I presume you are able to swim too, right, Daniel?" asked the captain in a fury, then with a strong spin he threw the man right after the girl.

Ágnes came to the surface and spit out the salty water, which have invaded her mouth. She tried to take a breath but did not have time to do so, as she immediately had to swim away in order to avoid her ill-wisher crashing down upon her fragile body. She was no cushion! The second splash cut short the scream of Dan, and it was more than enough to wet the whole away team, who were just sitting around comfortably. They immediately rowed towards him and tried to pull out their struggling friend.

Meanwhile, the girl swiftly swam around them, unnoticed, and crawled up upon one of the boats from behind. Before the crew could even realize what was happening, it was already too late... Ágnes hit them from every direction with the wet, dirty rag she scrubbed the deck with, every lazy bastard got his own share... chest, hands, legs, but it seemed that Ágnes' favorite spot was the face, as some of the men who have suffered her wrath could attest. The captain joyfully overlooked the amusing event from above, and after a few seconds, he warned his crew, that if anyone even touches the girl, all of them will get a permanent vacation on that god-forsaken island as a reward, no exceptions.

The group, now grown to twelve people in number, set off for the island. One of the boats had the first mate sitting on the front bench; his happy expression was taken over by grumpiness. He felt betrayed, as it was his own captain who has ashamed him in front of everyone. His best friend for all these years! Moreover, for what? A stowaway girl? He let out a sigh before sweeping the water out of his black, short and curly hair, directly onto the men sitting behind him. Of course it was on purpose, because he could still hear them laughing on him. On the other ship that was ahead of them, Ágnes was also sitting at the front, all alone, ready to smack anyone in the face with the rag, who tries to turn around while she gets rid of the water in her clothes. She was enjoying the protection she got from the captain, and it was also helpful that none of the sailors ever considered going against the will of the old salt.

As time has passed, the sun rose even higher on the eternal sky, indicating that noon would soon arrive. Sadly, this also meant that by the time the crew had reached the land, all of them, even Ágnes, were as dry as the grub that their cook puts on the table. The average temperature was on the rise from day to day, which was a very unusual phenomenon even though they were already deep into the summer. As soon as the boats have stopped, everyone jumped out onto the sandy beach, and without hesitation, rushed straight under the cool shades of the palm trees.

Rested and relieved, the men began their work. A few of them unloaded the wooden crates from the boats, then rowed back to the ship for more, while the rest have separated into two groups and began their search for the prized loot. Naturally, the first mate did not even move an inch from the comfortable bed of leaves on the ground. Daniel was twirling his short hair around, cooling himself with his bandana at the same time. The heat was killing him. Honestly, he wouldn't have minded working, in the usual sense, as he was quite fond of these small adventures, but the weather was in no mood of showing any mercy.

The girl was sitting right beside him, although he did not mind it... or... it's not like he could do anything about it. Ágnes got no job whatsoever; no one told her what to do, so she was just spending her time, looking around aimlessly. Getting bored as time passed by, she decided to take a look around and explore this new, amazing world. She stood up from the fallen leaves and walked down onto the shoreline, deciding on her own to catch up with one of groups that had went along with the beach. The feeling of the soft, wet, yet somehow burning hot sand that was under her bare feet felt really great for her. At last, solid ground! Well, more or less solid... No longer had she stood on the cold, wooden planks. Oh, how she yearned for this gift of life, to once again be connected to Mother Earth, even if it was only for a short period of time.

Somehow, she felt herself lighter, more joyful than ever before these past few days. Her smile did not fade away even after she finally caught up with the team, who were already busy cutting off strange green orbs from the tall trees. They were more than surprised by that happy expression the girl was sporting, but since they all had work to do, they simply could not care less about it. Pretending how she doesn't even exists, the sailors continued to climb up the tall trees for the wealthy harvest awaiting them.

Ágnes easily noticed their mean attitude, but her response was the same as theirs towards her. Without a single word, she too tried to climb one of trees, to show these men that she is not to be taken lightly. If she were to reach the top, then they would regret dissing her and would probably accept her as part of the crew. Well, that was the supposed plan, but she could not climb up one inch on the clean and smooth surface of the trees, as there was nothing to grab hold onto! Disappointed and easily given up after a brief laughter from the sailors, she sat down to watch them work instead. To her surprise, she found an already fallen fruit under the palm tree right next to her, eliminating the need of climbing altogether.

She did not know what is that, never even encountered one where she lives, but... the captain had said that they would be harvesting fruits, which meant that this thing must be edible. With a moment of hesitation behind her, she bit into the hard, green skin of the orb, however, she merely scratched its surface, as it was way too hard for her teeth to penetrate.

"Blimey! What ye be doing, lass?" shouted one of the sailors from atop of a tree, as he saw the disgust on the girl's face, holding a damn coconut in her hands.

"Is this a fruit?!" freaked out Ágnes, while trying to desperately scrape off the horrible aftertaste from her teeth and tongue.

"Addled!" laughed another. He could not believe his own eyes! For someone to actually do that... "It is a coconut! That green husk is inedible! It must be peeled first, then the shell beneath it be broken up, to get to the tasty insides." said, as he kept on laughing.

The girl did not stay for one second longer. She ran to the shoreline at an instant to wash out that horrible taste from her mouth. Even the salty nature of the ocean's water felt like a bliss, compared to that sour "thing" she just bit into. As she reached into the water for the third time, she noticed something strange floating just above the bed of beautiful small rocks. It was a paper, more precisely, an old map. She gently took it out, afraid that it might tear even at the smallest of breeze, and put it down onto the hot sand in attempt to dry it.

The ink had already smeared, but she could still make out the picture from the lines and circles. Without a doubt, it was the map of an island, but to her shock, not just any of it. She could clearly see that the shoreline depicted on the map was that very same area she was kneeling on right now. Did it fall from the ship, perhaps? Anyway, from what she could see on the map, there was a strange marking just next to her position, inside the forest. She may have not been able read the writing anymore, but the marking made some kind of a strange resemblance to a temple of sorts. Maybe ten or even just five minutes of walk through the thick woods and-

"Oy!" A deep voice broke the silence that had befallen on the girl. One of the men got alerted to the fact, that she was lying motionlessly in the sand. "Is everything all right?"

Ágnes got so startled by the sudden call that she accidentally ripped apart the fragile paper, and its wet remains were all but consumed by the thirsty sand below.

"...No..." she muttered in defeated tone, facing the guilt for the destruction she had so easily accomplished.

She stood up, let out a disappointed sigh and swept down the fine sand from her red clothes. Furious at the sailors, she headed back to the landing site. Nonetheless, even though the map was now destroyed, she still remembered what she saw on it. As the unbearable curiosity grew inside of her, she glanced over to the rows of trees to her right and concluded that if she were to enter the forest from this point and continue in on a straight line, she would eventually reach the marked site. This was a choice she had to make on her own, but since _exploring the woods_ soundly beat _idly burning under the sun_ by a huge punch, the decision was outright obvious. She let out a playful smile, and when nobody was looking at her, ran headlong into the depths of the island.

The ground beneath her feet was now much more similar to her. The wet, black earth, full of leaves and small branches... it felt almost the same as the forest she used to hang out in as a child, however, this place was much more dense and overgrown, making travel difficult. Hot, damp air had surrounded her, so breathing was a hard challenge to overcome. She got dizzy; the only thing that could have been considered good news was the fact the sun could not reach her with its deadly rays.

She was just about to give in and turn back, when she pulled aside the last batch of leaves that had blocked her path. What she found on the other side was something of a beauty! A clear meadow that was covered in lowly cut grass and blooming flowers, accompanied by the sound of peacefully singing birds. Oddly enough, it was no jungle terrain, but she couldn't care less about that at the moment. She ran out into the open and lain down on the grass, enjoying the now great air and the relaxing atmosphere. The sun was directly above her now, though it did not burn her skin. On the contrary, its light was warm here, almost seducingly comfortable. Ágnes felt like she was once again at home.

Nostalgia filled her mind, but the sweet memories were all got washed away by something even more so out of place, than this whole meadow. At the end of the field, she came to notice a huge pile of heavy stones and rocks. If she had to guess, it was a crumbled building. The temple, she assumed, but that was not the reason of her surprise. At the base of the pile, she saw a man sitting with his back against the rocks. He was motionless, yet kept on staring at the girl in front of him. Ágnes stepped closer, almost within reach of him, and to her horror, she found out the reason for the man's unusual behavior. He was dead.

Not just dead... What was sitting before Ágnes was a complete human skeleton, wearing the clothes of a captain of some sort. A brown tricorn and a rather large jacket, which was decorated with numerous pins and sashes, brown loose pants and fancy boots... all of them without a single tear, a single scratch to make note of. The whole set appeared to be brand new, yet the remains of the man were all dusty and old, one would guess that it was decades old. Never minding how it was still intact, Ágnes, seeing her very first skeleton in her life, stepped even closer, as the feeling of curiosity once again overcame her body.

She had found a small notebook next to the corpse, which read "Diary of Sir Ecleston". Even this small book appeared to have resisted the destructive nature of time, which somehow no longer surprised the girl, as she came to expect it at this point. She felt the courage rushing through her blood, as she grew more and more accustomed to the scene. Something around her was sucking out the fear from her mind, the doubt and the sense of danger until she was no longer afraid.

Opening up the book it was the distinguishable scent of the ocean that first reached her senses. The handwriting was also poor. Ágnes could read well, her mother have taught her at home every day, but from this text in front of her, she could only understand one or two words, while she kept on turning the pages. The lines were shaking, rushed; it must have been written with great anxiety. The further she paged in the book the more unreadable it got, until all of a sudden it stopped with a single line. The date of the last entry strengthened her suspicions... it have been only two days, since this man's story got cut short. Finally, the feeling of overwhelming dread again took over the girl, combating the fake illusion of strength that was given to her. The owner of this book was, without a doubt, the one who was sitting in front of her right now. But just what happened to him? Ágnes decided to take another shot with the diary and paged up the last entry however unreadable it is, in order to find some answers to her questions.

 _"Fourth week on the ocean... we will reach our destination by morning, but I can only hope, that they won't catch up to us. Simone, Mackie and June have already died of their injuries... (...) ...morning wasn't fruiting. As we close in on the island... (...) ...the map fell into the ocean. (...) ...we ported at the southwest side, but without the map, it will be hard to find the... (...). They are close... Breck and Lucas fell. Only I left to..."_

The girl suddenly got the shivers. She sensed that someone was watching her every move, and the knowledge of what have happened to this man did not pair up well with this feeling. She turned around and was just about to head back, away from this scary place once and for all, when she noticed some kind of a blue light to shine up from behind her, turning this world's every color into the hue of the skies. She looked back over her shoulder and to her shock, it was the skull of the skeleton itself, which let out this unsettling light. Ágnes did not know what to think, what to do. It must a trick, she thought, as such phenomenon is not possible, but her curious personality got the better of her one too many times already. Bit by bit she stepped back to the remains, quietly, looking around just in case she will see anyone lurking in the surrounding tree lines.

The blue light slowly grew in volume, more and more bewitching, charming the girl. Ágnes leaned in to the face of the remains, looking through the empty eye sockets in order to find the source of the light, but not even a single second had passed, when she found an inhumanly strong, demonic grip on her frail neck. The skeleton, which had been lying deceptively under the guise of the dead, suddenly came to life. Ágnes could not free herself of the terrifying opponent, the only thing she could do besides desperately gasping for air, was to watch as the otherworldly creature opened up its dark jaws, revealing the azure colored flames beneath it.

With a strong push, Ágnes found herself on the ground with the enemy above, looking down on her like a bloodthirsty predator. The only voice that could be heard were the painful growls of the girl, as the being slowly tightened its deadly grip, breaking a few small blood vessels in her skin. The skeleton made no sound. Its bones did not rattle, its mouth gave no voice... it was the silent Death incarnate. Flames sprouted from its empty mouth, as it raised its right arm above the head of the prey. The unnatural fire then spread from the skull and engulfed the raised arm in its azure cloak. For a split second, the image of her own dead body appeared before Ágnes' eyes. She tried to struggle, desperately seeking for a way to set herself free, but the corpse, surprising for its slim built, did not give in for any attempt of a counterattack.

As the Death reached down for her face with its burning hand, Ágnes tried to block its reach with the book she had in her right hand. This attempt also failed to produce any lasting effects, as the ghoul roughly snatched the book out the weak hand, then, in matter of blinks, the diary vanished in the blue flames, its ashes spread over the young body below.

With the destruction of the only "weapon" she had at her disposal, the only option left for Ágnes was to keep on struggling for her life, in which through she had managed to kick out a small bone knife from one of pockets of the coat the skeleton wore. Her mind grew dark with every passing second, due to the denial of the precious air from her lungs, and thick fog has descended on her vision. The merciless grip around her neck tightened once more, as the creature realized that its prey was too stubborn to die. The flaming right hand closed in on her face to give her the last touch of death.

Even so, in a last bit of effort, Ágnes managed to reach out for the fallen knife on the ground, and with a solid grip on its handle, she stabbed the creature in the skull, forcing the bone blade through its thin temple. The weapon had reached the central light and at an instant, immeasurable pain struck the creature of Death. The being tried to stand up, voicelessly screaming at its demise, grasping its head out of pure agony, but eventually all of the lights have faded into the nothingness, and the skeleton crumbled apart, lifeless. Ágnes was lying helplessly and frozen on the ground, watching the clear blue skies above her with empty and dull eyes, as dust and bones covered her body. Her heart was beating like crazy; her mind could not accept the event that had happened here.

On the beach, the men had already finished the foraging and were only waiting for Ágnes to finally show up her face. The first mate did not deny his feelings, he openly stated that they should just leave without her, but the majority had decided to give the girl some more time, and if she were nowhere to be found even after that, they would go and search for her. After all, even Daniel had to understand, that no girl meant an angry captain, and none of them were keen on that.

Five minutes have passed, then ten, fifteen at last, but not a single soul appeared from anywhere. They were just about to separate into two groups to search for her, one led by Daniel himself, when one of them noticed her dark silhouette at the end of the beach. She was just stumbling forwards, broken and unnatural; with an unblinking stare in her eyes, that was lost in the distance without a reason.

The sailors rushed to her without hesitation, concerned about her. They kept on asking what's happened to her, but she did not give an answer. Her very words were too scared to come out, afraid of the Death that might still haunt her. The crew helped the girl to the boats where the first mate was awaiting her. Daniel couldn't even imagine what and how could push someone into that terrific state of mind, and almost got sick just by looking at the unnatural bruises around her neck. The man's surprising concern finally broke her defenses. Ágnes lost all of her strength and knelt down into the water, bursting into an unstoppable cry. She could finally scream all she wanted; nothing denied her now of the fresh air needed to do so.

Daniel took a step away from her, and then did a quick headcount on his team. Everyone was accounted for, no one missing. Even so, one of them had to be the one, who did this outrageous attack on the girl. No, that is not possible he immediately eradicated that thought. They are a family, everyone knows everyone more than their own mother. It couldn't have been any of these men, he swore his own soul on that, but the other option of a third party was all the more frightening.

"This will be hard to explain to the captain."

When night had befallen on them, Ágnes was leaning on the rails at the stern of the ship, as she used to do so, looking back on the path where they came from. The dark sky swiftly merged with the ocean at the horizon. Had it not for the bright stars to show the way, it was possible that one could not separate the two planes. She took deep breaths and tried to clear out the haze from her mind, to calm her head. However... memories are hard to forget. The gentle breeze swept her red hair ahead into her face, as she looked down upon the knife in her hand. A simple, sharpened, white shark teeth, mounted on a carven, wooden grip, tightly laced around with some old textile rope... She still could not believe that it was this mere trinket that had saved her life...

"Ágnes!" shouted the captain from the lower deck, as he was climbing up the stairs. "Are you up there? Is everything all right?"

"Y-yes!" answered the girl in a hurry, surprised by the man's presence "I am feeling a lot better now, thank you..."

The captain looked around.

"You should go to sleep, it's already too late" he smiled. "You had a very long day. I don't know what happened there on the island, but if you have anything to say-"

"No, it is all right!" Ágnes cut into his words, to avoid any unfortunate implications. "I don't remember anything anyway... "

She lied, again, just as how she did this whole afternoon, but even she did not know why. It was as if something inside of her was forcing her not to tell the truth.

The man let out a disappointed sigh. He already regretted sending her down onto that island. If it weren't for that decision then... Moreover, he knows not what to do about that injury she had sustained. At first he though that someone had assaulted her, but he trusts his men enough to believe in their words... besides... those kinds of bruises are unlike anything that a human can be capable of inflicting.

"Well, anyway " he shrugged. " If you get into bed fast enough, you might not have to work tomorrow one bit!" offered the captain, which the girl then happily accepted. Smile appeared on her weary, tired face, thanks to this great news. She stabbed the knife into the railing's wood and then ran off to secure herself a bed at last. The captain, amused by this sudden outburst of joy, laughed a little, and then followed her downstairs, to meet up with his crew, leaving the navigation of the ship in the hands of the night shift.

The sky was clear for the rest of the night, thousands of stars shone brightly. The calm light has reached everything, from the smallest holes on the deck to the sparkling sails above them... and even the bone knife that was sticking out of the wood, unnoticed, glowing in a faint red hue, as it was feeding upon the rays of the full white moon.


	3. Episode Three - Painful Farewell

**_Episode Three_**

 **Painful Farewell**

Darkness... A world under the toxic veil of Death, shrouded in its endless corruption, betrayed. The mighty vessels that had once sailed the oceans now all lay wasted, rotting under the waves of boiling blood. The earthly soil is nothing more than scorched ember under the demonic power of the crimson sun, while the putrid stench of the dead seeks out and suffocates anyone who still dares to be alive.

Crows, these black messengers of the end are feasting upon the flesh of the fallen, who were lucky enough to find immediate peace in their cessation of existence. The rest on the other hand got trapped under the curse, their souls could never be set free from the chains of lifeless servitude. They now roam these lands as the slaves of Death, noiseless, with only their azure flames to warn you of their presence. A thirst for blood that can never be quenched, a need for the hunt that can never be fulfilled, these skeletons are left behind as the sole authority, to cleanse this world of all its impurity.

Right now, they are on the move again, recently caught the trail of someone very important. Just like a red shadow, Ágnes is running through the field of bones, fleeing from Death with all of her will to survive this task. Her clothes tattered, torn, her hair messy and unkempt, as she haven't had a single day of rest for so long. She is looking for a shelter, a home, anything that could help her stay alive just a little bit more, but the ruins of this age provide no such support. Her heart is beating faster than ever before, but breathing is already too hard to do.

She finds momentarily peace in the remains of a large building. A tavern in the past, but which the blight had long time ago conquered. The wood is rotten, the windows are broken, and the walls are all painted with the blood of those, who made this place their last stand. Ágnes looks around, careful, checking each and every corner for possible threats that might jump at her, but the weak floor gives way to her steps, and this is something she could not see ahead. Within the blink of an eye, the ground opens beneath her and the depths of the earth swallows her body whole. Not even the loudest of screams could escape this trap that was set for her, but fate did not let the struggles of the girl end in such a way, no, she has had many more sins to atone for. Ágnes' tired eyes slowly open up, although she is unable to look around this time. The light have left her when she fell, pitch black surroundings are her new companions in these final moments.

As she reaches out with her shaking hands to grab hold onto something in the darkness, her curious fingers touch a strange object in front of her. At first, she has no idea what to make of the suspicious form, but none of those doubts would matter in the minute that will follow. All of a sudden, blue light shines up in the cave, as azure flames burst up from inside of the skull, burning the hands, which got too close to it. The bloodcurling face of Death has appeared before her, inches away from her own, and Ágnes screams out on the top of her exhausted lungs. She wants to back away, escape, crawl, whatever that would get her away from the monster, but as soon as she tries to, tormenting agony strikes her legs, broken from the fall.

She has lost so many friends, her family, and now even this fragile body abandons her at such a crucial moment. The voiceless creature lunges forward and opens up its flaming mouth, trying to imitate an angry scream, then grabs hold onto the pulsing neck it was hunting for so long. The skeleton slams Ágnes back onto the ground, pinning her against the hard rocks. The girl attempts to struggle, to fight back with whatever strength she has left, but to no avail. The Death has quickly had enough of the annoying flailing, and so with its free arm it effortlessly broke the wrist of the prey.

A painful scream could be then heard echoing in the caves. It was over. She lost. Her strength has finally left her. She was tired, hungry and dehydrated, with immobilizing pain rushing through her veins, and so when the skeleton raised up its arm to deliver the final blow, Ágnes just simply submitted herself to the power of the demon. She closed her two beautiful eyes, not wanting to witness the flames that would strip her of her life.

I***I

Her soul could not bear this weight any longer. As if an orchestra of trumpets had awakened her, Ágnes quite literally jumped out of her bunk. Not even bothering to put her legs down first, her fall on the hard deck floor would have been an amusing sight for anyone to enjoy. When the girl at last came to her senses, the very first thing she did was to look around and examine her surroundings, fearing that she might still be in danger. It took quite a few minutes for her to wake up completely and realize, that the entire ordeal was nothing more than a nightmare. Another one.

It was the dawn of last day of the week, the end of the route over the sea, but the latter half of the journey was far less pleasant than how it was originally trusted to be. Ágnes has had frequent bad nights ever since that incident on the island, often with multiple nightmares following each other, and the captain has even lent his own private cabin to the girl, in hopes that some personal space could help her recuperate. Needless to say now, it did not work.

The girl wiped off the sweat from her forehead, and as she swayed her hand in front of her eyes, she was more than surprised to see that odd bone knife in her strong grasp. How did that even get here, she asked herself, completely dumbfounded. Last time she saw of it, it was the night when she left it at the railings, but that was days ago. Did maybe the captain find it?

Under normal circumstances she would have kept thinking more about this bewildering puzzle, however, that attempt was abruptly interrupted, when she's heard a sound that she has been awaiting for a very, very long time now.

"Land, ho!" shouted an excited sailor from the crow's nest. His rusty, unique voice rang through the vessel.

Ágnes carefully slid the trinket into her pocket, so that she won't lose it a next time, and since she was already dressed up and ready to go, she immediately rushed outside to check out the sights for herself. Of course, she could not see a thing on the horizon just yet, for quite a while that was the sole privilege of the man up top, but as time has passed and they got closer, even Ágnes could fall in love with how fascinating that enormous island looked. Seemingly endless ridges of grey mountains, a barren land that humanity somehow managed to tame. It just grew and grew, almost to the size of a continent itself, fitting, as it was the largest island this world had to offer.

"Tigerleaf Mountain." said the captain as he stepped to Ágnes' side. "The Gate of Meridian. And also, I guess it will be the place to say our farewells."

 ** _Part Two:_**

This island was an honestly busy world in the Onyx archipelago. The town itself, as the captain had described it before, was centralized in a quiet valley, but there were parts and districts that were not afraid to creep up into the hills. Just like a squid, it reached out with its countless arms onto the windy hills, in order to expand.

Thanks to its perfect location, Tigerleaf has flourished. Being to sole connection to both the mainland and the Jade archipelago, heart of the Meridian, it was not at all surprising to see this once small restocking outpost grow into one of the most important pieces of power to hold. In addition, the protecting cape of the mountains also gave home to many iron and stone mines, which alone have supplied most of the archipelago with materials. Tigerleaf Mountain was, without a doubt, a powerful force to be reckoned with. Its strong economy allowed for a peerless armada that was never to be underestimated, never to be challenged.

Ágnes gazed upon at the large ships in amazement. Half a hundred vessels have filled up the bay, some even anchoring down straight there in the distance of the deep waters, as space was a scarce resource to come by here. Passing them, the girl encountered a sudden feeling of littleness. For all her life, the largest ships she ever saw were of merchants, but compared to these monstrosities, she... no... even this whole brig was nothing more than a small fly, lost in the shadow of giants. They were the lords of the ocean, and she was nothing more than a speckle of dust, pushed around by the weakest of gusts.

"Grand frigates..." whispered the first mate to himself with a hint of fear in his voice. "What are they doing here?"

The sun itself was covered for a moment by the three enormous masts of the state-of-the-art warship right next to them.

"It may be a blockade." supposed the captain, sharing the anxious feeling of his friend.

He, as with most of his men, instantly recognized that distinct red paint on the hull. All of these powerful frigates were boasting the strength of the navy of Tigerleaf Mountain, though their concentrated presence was most surprising.

"Blockade?" queried a sailor, unable to see hostile forces on the horizon. "What for?"

"Better question be why does all of them look so dang empty?" The bowsman was visibly disturbed by this silence. "Gives me the shivers, it does!"

Gentle waves helped the brig drift into port, where a single free spot was awaiting them at one of the docks. Ágnes was enthusiastic about the arrival. Soon she will experience her very first steps on civilized land outside her own, a taste of life on these wild archipelagos. The captain on the other hand wasn't so keen on letting her go. Not into the unknown, at the very least. The girl was just about to jump down from the ship, when a strong arm snatched her shirt from behind, pulling back the light body.

"And where might you be going?" the captain asked, much to the confusion of the girl, he then pointed back at the hold, making clear his intentions. "Aren't you forgetting something? I may have hired you for a single route only, but as a full-time employee. So hasten your steps, we have to unload the cargo!"

Saying that Ágnes was shocked by this revelation would have been an understatement; the redhead wished the last day to be effortless. She was tired, exhausted by the long week on the sea, and so all she wanted to do was to fetch herself some precious alone time, far away from the salty air that got burned into her nose. To feel the solid ground beneath her soles!

With that thought came the fire, a passionate flame that lighted up within her soul. The sooner she finishes with this task the faster she gets to enjoy what this town has to offer. Therefore, Ágnes ran down into the hold without hesitation to bring forth the first of many crates, soon to be followed by the fellow sailors who did not want to lose to her in this race. The captain overlook their work with fatherly care, nonetheless, he was worried. This silence, this foreboding emptiness surrounding them left his mind restless. He was hoping that the plus time the unloading can give them might allow for some progress, to find a cause for what has happened, yet his mate in the crow's nest failed to see anything, anyone of interest.

The sun was already high in the sky by the time they have finished. Having completed their work for now, the sailors disembarked the vessel one by one, leaving behind Ágnes, leaning on the railings for what she thought to be her final time on this ship. Her elegant legs did not carry strength in them, as her whole weight was pressed onto the hard wood, so that she could catch some quick rest. The girl was in a rather bad mood, cheerless, that much was obvious for the good ol' captain. A young lass was frowning, he could not allow that under his watch, much less on his ship!

"Where'd your enthusiasm go? he asked, startling the girl, who was deeply lost in thought.

This sudden question easily made Ágnes jolt up in surprise. Her long, straight hair fell forward, hiding those sparkling hazel eyes away from this world, and it took a few moments for her to clear the red locks from her vision.

"It got trapped in one of those crates." She let out a quick sigh, implying her exhaustion, but then followed up her answer with the true problem that was bothering her soul. "I almost left without saying even a thank you."

The man let out a hearty laugh.

"No, you almost left without taking this." he responded, trying to imitate Ágnes, then handed over a small pouch to the girl, which he had prepared early in the morning. "Your payment for the hard work you've done. Two hundred and thirty worth of pieces of eight." Amazement followed his voice, as Ágnes could not contain her excited emotions. She was struck dumb, speechless, the fact that she was working for actual money completely eluded her since the start of the journey. "I am afraid I can not give you more. We too only get paid once we return to the mainland with some goods from here, limiting our coffer, though that amount should last you a few days, 'til you get some other job."

"N-no, it's okay..." stuttered the girl under the effects of the shock. She held her very first earnings in her life, this was unbelievable! What to say? How to react? Should she bow? Someone, quick, tell her what to do! "Thank you!" she shouted unexpectedly, as a last resort move.

The captain smirked once again. Truly, this week has been one unforgettable experience so far, and not just for the two of them, everyone had fun on this vessel. At first, the man had his doubts when he allowed the girl on, rightfully fearing for her safety, but it was good to see that throughout all those harmless misadventures aboard the deck, almost all of the crew grew to like Ágnes as a little sister to be taught and protected. She was but a butterfly, opening up her wings to fly out into the endless skies, seeking her path.

Well, that path almost took a horrible turn halfway into the voyage; the stubborn bruises on Ágnes' neck were attesting that. The crew tried not to think about that day, make it so that it never existed, written off, scrapped. No clear explanation has surfaced about that incident yet, the girl was adamant on trying to hide it, and since the implications made all of the men uneasy, they too tried no to pry her for information, and let the iron teeth of time to grind away the past.

The captain put his left hand on the shoulder of the girl, in hopes of channeling some confidence into her.

"Do not repress anything inside of you, okay?" he said with a kind, fatherly smile. "Let everything out naturally, and always stay who you are.

Ágnes did not understand why the man has said these words, but give him a nod nevertheless to show that she will heed the advice that was given to her. She then tried to put away the pouch into her pockets, however, that was fed way too many coins to actually fit into any of them. Seeing this, the captain had asked her to stay still for a moment, while he ran back into his cabin for reasons unstated. In a minute, he was already back by her side with a brown colored shoulder bag, which he then gave to the girl as a parting gift.

It was an old piece of work, sewed together from simple leather. The stitching was worn out and the bag itself had many stains, but at that moment in time, none of them mattered for Ágnes one bit.

"Here, this might also help you!" said the captain, as a way of explaining his intentions. He then also pulled out a red bandana, which he firmly tied around the head of the girl, careful, not to pull any of that beautiful hair by accident. "It will protect you from the sun. Lately it has been hotter than usual, so make sure to keep it on at all times!"

Ágnes was more than humbled by this heartwarming care. Her eyes got all watery thanks to the upcoming tears, but she knew that if she'd start crying now, parting ways would be all the more harder to accomplish. She will forever cherish this one week! With that thought, the girl dropped down the pouch into her new bag, then, when the captain wasn't looking for a fleeting moment, the bone knife also got slid into the dark, leathery depths.

When she was completely ready at last, Ágnes snatched up the bag onto her shoulder, and with a farewell smile on her face, she too has disembarked the merchant brig, in order to discover this brand new world.

 ** _Part Three_**

As luck would have it, the sightseeing was quickly put off by the intolerable hunger that made her mouth water. The sweet smell of freshly baked bread was creeping in the air, lurking on the streets of Tigerleaf to find a new prey it can lead to its destiny. Ágnes was immediately enthralled by this wonder, and so her nose led her to the local tavern, which the smell had called its home.

It was a large, two story building with a very fancy outlook to it. Not a crack on the walls, no stains on the terrace... a completely different level of luxury than what her small hometown could offer. _Sword in the Stone,_ this is what the nameplate said, hanging from the archway in the slight breeze. Entering the wooden door, the first thing the girl had noticed was the absolute lack of people, even though this island was supposed to be something like a central hub for cultures to cross. Empty chairs were missing their patrons, dry mugs were sitting on the tables, and all of the windows had their curtains closed, allowing only small rays of light to peek inside. The oven behind the bar was also cold, unused, but then where did the smell of fresh bakery come from? She was still feeling that sweet fragrance all around her. This was the location, her nose did not lie!

Now that she looked back on it, she has reminded herself, that oddly enough, she had not met anyone on the streets either. For a brief moment of a heartbeat, she thought that maybe this island was desolate, abandoned, but this idea was quickly swept away by her rationality. No, that cannot be true; there must be something else to it. A festival on the other side of the island, yes, that must be it!

Calming her soul, she has strengthened her resolve and moved inward to look around a little further. The ground floor was void, had nothing of interest, so her small steps led her to the upper story, which was still shrouded in a mystery. The wooden stairs were all screaming under her feet, so loud in the absence of noise, that even the slightest movement could have awoken the dead from their eternal slumber.

Looking down the poorly lit corridor, Ágnes only found rows of closed doors. She cautiously checked into them, but found nothing, aside from pristine clean surroundings. Her mother often shared stories from her workplace, about things that go down in a tavern, about the people that go there, and yet, nothing from the current situation fit into that world that was constructed for her. She was advised to stay as far as possible from such buildings, especially during the night times, yet in this inn she felt no hostility. On the contrary, the more she explored the more calm she felt. There was still a door left to be opened, but going by the exact same sights that had awaited her in the previous rooms, Ágnes just turned around and went back down the stairs. No need to waste any more time up there.

She sat down at one of the tables, confused. Neat handkerchiefs in front of her, carefully lit candles on the wall to her right; this place was too perfect, walking on the razor edge of impossibility. For a swift moment, she felt a slight breeze. A faint scent of lavender, her favorite. It came out of a nowhere, no windows, no doors that opened, just... came into being. Her calmness slowly degraded into anxiety. As if a lucid dream had taken her captive, and with every thought and every doubt, she was closer and closer towards waking up.

Suddenly, she rose up from her seat with such power, that the chair itself fell over. Lavender... Like a divine warning from the Heavens, its scent reminded her of the smell of the fresh bread that led her here. That sweet fragrance was the key that opened up the ethereal chains on her mind: They do not bake in these inns, she realized! Why did she accept that as a fact earlier? She knew the contrary without a fault, how was she fooled? Ágnes rushed behind the bar, only to find that the oven was long gone, its place overtaken by chests of various kinds. The smell did not fade however, it lingered, even stronger than before. Where is it coming from!?

The last room. That final door that she walked away from, that's it! It has to be, there was no other option! She hurried to the staircase, not knowing what to expect from the unknown. She may find nothing, the same elegant and tidy space, but desperation pushed her forward, had nothing to lose. She was just about to reach the first of the steps when all of a sudden she found herself lying on the floor. It took her a few seconds to recollect what happened; the newly found pain in her knees was a nice reminder. Her feet struck something on the way, so she stumbled forward, falling hand-first into a puddle of water, but as she looked back, she failed to see anything that could have tripped her. But she felt it, she swore she kicked into something. Nevertheless, she stood up and continued on back upstairs.

More and more questions arose in her mind, but the girl no longer sought an answer. She did not follow the scent anymore, but was escaping from this nightmare that held her in captivity. Her breathing became irregular, her scared heart was pounding in her throat, and every single cell in her body was drowning in anxiety. On the other hand, all of her senses were telling her that it is all right; that she is not in danger. Her eyes saw perfection, her nose smelled pleasantness, nothing was out of order for them. Yet, her soul was screaming, shouting at her to turn back, run while she can. The hallway seemed to warp around her, as the war in her mind grew in proportions. Before she knew it, she was already standing in front of the last door, dizzy and without strength. The girl leaned at the wall, gasping for same air, but even so her bag was right beside her, she was unable to see that distinct crimson red glow, filtering out on the gaps of the leather.

Is she sick? Or perhaps is this just simple fatigue? Her soul was trying to warn her, send a clear message, but her senses did not allow that. Nothing could be this perfect, she knew that much, yet she was deceived by an illusion as such. No more... She will fall for that no more! That was her decision, not to be the slave of a fake world. She grabbed hold of the knob, and then with all of her power and defiance, she tore open the door, not giving any chance for late hesitation. This dream ends now!

A loud thud, followed by grave silence. As time has passed, darkness crept into the corridor. The shadows found Ágnes sitting on the floor, shivering, tears flowing below the eyes that dared not to blink. She tried to run away, but the other side of the hallway proved to be the stop for her. Frozen and shaking, she looked at the dead body lying at her feet. A woman's corpse was leaning at the door when Ágnes had opened it, but the girl quickly jumped back before it could have fell on her.

"W-what's happening..." she stuttered, as her quiet voice broke under the pressure.

Pictures were flashing in front of her eyes, as if she was stuck between two worlds, unable to decide. At first, everything was fine. She saw perfection, beauty, but their place was then taken by destruction and decay. She could not handle this struggle any more, and so she did the very thing her mind has been instructing her since the very beginning: Escape.

Ágnes ran through the burnt down corridor, down the charred stairway, only to find herself in the ransacked lobby. She did not care about the sights, she wanted to get away, but when at last she reached the door, the girl had found herself in the hold of strong arms, which seemingly did not want to let her go.

A familiar voice called out to her.

"Is everything all right?" asked the man, who then gave her a few seconds for a reply, which never came. "We need to get away from here!"

The girl looked up, and that is when she saw the face of her captain, gazing around with anger and fear mixed up in his eyes. He took the girl by the arm, trying to pull her out of the building, but Ágnes resisted.

"There is a dead woman upstairs!" she shouted hysterically, after she broke free from the man's hold.

The captain did not hesitate with an answer, though he was more than confused by Ágnes' exclamation. Why is a single body so important on the land of decay?

"Listen, everyone is dead!" he answered with a raised tone. "Look around yourself!"

For a moment, Ágnes did not understand what he meant by that. To her knowledge, this place was empty, untouched. She has already seen everything there was to be, but followed the instruction instinctively. As she turned around, the world twitched in her fooled eyes, revealing the truth that was carefully kept from her mind. Ágnes staggered, her breathing was cut short by the sudden horror that began to creep up on her bones.

Ruins. Destruction everywhere. The chandelier which she first saw hanging above was now shattered into a million pieces, the chairs and tables were all but broken apart, charred, and the ground was covered in various debris of wood, cloth and glass. Everything she had experienced before was fake, just a facade to preserve something. Then, something else has hit her... Ágnes flinched in disgust, as the horrifying smell of rotten flesh invaded her nose, so strong, that it had already seeped into every little nook and cranny of the tavern. Good thing she did not immediately realize that it was this very smell that had disguised itself, or else she wouldn't have been able to stand any longer.

This sensation of fear, this brief existence in front of oblivion's gate, this is what her dream was about. The girl was one hundred percent sure about it; this was the wrecked building in her vision, in which she had found her doom. Then she came to notice the place where she stumbled at, next to the stairs. A body was laying there, one of the many, but that one she did not manage to blindly evade. A large puddle of blood was next to it, still seeping from the fresh corpse. Ágnes looked down on her shaking hands, her clothes, only to see that it was not water she fell into.

That was the final straw. Nausea drove her out of the tavern, where the contents of her upset stomach escaped into the open world. The captain walked after her, trying to comfort, but Ágnes was not in a responsive mood. That was too much to take in for her. For anyone! Why...? Why, why, why, why, why? Why did this happen? How did this happen? Her mind was a mess, unable to think straight even for a moment.

"What happened...?" she cried to herself.

"Tigerleaf is no more..." said the captain with an endless worry in his voice.  
Ágnes found a bit of strength in herself, and turned her head around to look to the man for an explanation, but then another voice came out from behind them.

"Unbelievable, eh?" Daniel stepped out of the shadows of the inn, where he was waiting for some time now. "We left this island two weeks ago. Mere fourteen days were enough for this economical powerhouse to go completely silent."

"Dan!" addressed him the captain with a welcoming tone. After they had realized the threat that this world holds, they went their separate ways to search for Ágnes. He was more than glad to see that fate brought all three of them together like this. "Ocean politics are your specialty. Any idea who is to blame for this?"

Daniel leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. This subject was not as easy as his old friend made it sound like, so some thinking was required.

"Tigerleaf was controlled by the Imperial Coalition, a flag with close ties to the mainland. Which I think I do not need to emphasize how many enemies it resulted in. Anyone would have been glad to wipe them off the map, just to weaken the empire's influence on the Meridian, but they were too strong to make a move against, even with combined forces." He let out a defeated sigh. "So I haven't got a clue, there's just too many to list."

Of course, Ágnes knew which party was responsible, her vision had told her. She gazed around the empty street, looking for them, but even though she failed to see any, the girl felt their chilling stare. They are there, they are around her, and they are watching. No one escapes from the Death!

"At any rate." continued Daniel. "Now that we have miraculously found her in this ghost town, maybe we could stroll back to the docks and get the hell away." He too looked around, as if his body also felt the cold touch of fear. "This place gives me the shivers."

"I know what you are talking about, good friend." agreed the captain, sharing this anxiety, then turned his attention towards the girl, as she finally stood up from the ground. "Ágnes, we need to get back to the ship right away. We can not leave you on this island alone, so I am afraid that you will need to endure our presence a bit longer than it was planned." he said, with a joking tone to relieve some of her stress. A show to indicate that everything will be all right in the end.

Ágnes was stunned momentarily by this overflowing confidence, but even if it was fake, she couldn't help but admire this strength. She looked away, embarrassed, unsure of the future, but then gave a sheepish nod, ready to once again be part of this crew.

 **Part 4:**

Calm winds blew through the empty streets. Everything was without a noise, only but the footsteps of the two men and the girl were what gave some life to this now devoid land. They walked in silence, turning all their attention towards examining their surroundings instead of speaking to each other. The tragedy that struck the island was hard to talk about; the seasoned sailors were not unfamiliar with the people here, their ways and life, and now it was all gone, without a single word of notice. A great void took residence within their hearts, along with an indescribable - yet oddly familiar -, feeling of pain, that have accompanied every single grieving memory.

Even so, it was Ágnes who had the most trouble with keeping the words to herself. It was obvious that neither the captain nor the first mate wanted to talk about what was happening around them, but her confused mind was aching for answers, and this combination did not go well.

"How did you find me?" she asked, hoping that this one harmless question would be enough to break the ice.

The men looked at each other, unable to decide what to tell.

"It was not all that difficult." the first mate replied. "Most people who step on land after a long voyage tend to hit the rum the first chance they get. The inn was an obvious choice to start."

That answer was not satisfactory, or more specifically, not detailed enough for the shaken girl.

"Why did you come after me?" approached Ágnes from a different angle.

It was the captain, who turned to her this time.

"I told you already, we are not leaving you behind on this gods forsaken world."

"Yes, but how did you find out about the..." she then stopped for a beat, in need of a new breath of air. Having calmed down a bit since the tavern incident, this was a hard word to say. "...deaths?"

The captain let out a quiet sigh of annoyance. Of course, Ágnes had the right to know every bit of information, but he was really hoping that it could have waited at least a few more hours, until he gets his thoughts together.

"As I usually stay behind on the brig to check if everything is in order, I was oblivious of what was happening on the land, aside from the lack of people and noise. It was my men, who first encountered the dead, when they had entered the shipyard for supplies. Apparently, whoever did this picked the exterior areas clean, not to raise alarm immediately for those fools who come to visit. This allows their curiosity to draw them in, yet nothing to scare them off outright."

"And right now, we are those fools." interrupted Daniel, summing up his own thoughts. "You see why we have to get away as soon as we can? This whole island is nothing more now than a trap."

Ágnes flinched. The word "trap" was enough to push her into uneasiness.

"Precisely."

The captain gave a small nod, acknowledging his first mate's view. He did not like the sound of it, who would, but the facts had to be faced at some point, and this was the most reasonable answer they could come up with. They need to escape, before the string is pulled! Little did he know, is that said string was already in motion...

They have reached the main square in the heart of the city, and the three soon became two, as Ágnes froze in place. It took the sailors a few steps to notice her absence from their side, but when they turned around, all they saw was a face, overtaken by terror, and a body, that was shivering in fear. The girl's horrified stare was locked on something in the distance, and no words could snap her out of this stance. Daniel looked around, following Ágnes's gaze, and using that as a guideline he quickly found the object of scare.

There was a beautiful monument in the center of the square, shimmering in a light blue color under the shine of the warm sun. An "Atlantean pillar", as people used to call it, though this was but flavor text, the real threat was still yet to be examined. To much of the men's surprise, skeletons were sitting around the pillar, backs turned against its sides. Heads hanging low, spine bent forward, they were just resting there, taking a nap.

Daniel took an unsure step backwards.

"Those weren't there when we first came through here." he said to his old friend, but the captain had his mind set on something else.

"How do those bones hold together on their own?

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Suddenly there are skeletons laying in front of us, and this is your first thought." noted the first mate with a hint of disillusion. "Typical, really. Now, getting back on the matter at hand, someone is trying to pull a very ill prank on us."

For some time more, they quietly watched the unusual sight, waiting for something to happen. They did not dare to go closer to the pillar, no matter how their curiosity has instructed so, as the fear of the unknown held greater power over them. They were cautious, already expecting an ambush of some form. Pillagers? Brigands? Barbarians? Any of these could jump out of their hiding place at any given moment.

Then came a sudden shift in the winds, a strong gust of air that swept through the streets, stripping the land of its rotting stench. A cloud of sand and dust has enveloped the group, viciously attacking their eyes, nose and every other vital point they could get their sharp hands on, but even though it was strong enough to force both grown men back a few steps, the whole phenomenon was over in just seconds after it had started. The air calmed down in an instant, cleared up as if nothing had happened, and as the captain slowly but surely got himself together, he came to notice that even his loyal first mate was now staring ahead with a terrified look on his face.

The skeletons were no longer resting in peace. No, each and every one of them were hunched forward, heads turned to look directly at their living visitors. Endless darkness hid behind those empty eye sockets, and the captain couldn't help but wonder: Is it him, who is watching them, or is it the other way around...?

Hysterical shouting from behind broke the nightmarish silence, as Ágnes lost control over her emotions and began to pelt the bleached remains with small pebbles from the side of the road.

"Get away!" she screamed at them from the top of her lungs. None of the stones hit their mark, no matter how many she threw. She was just way too over the edge to concentrate on her aim.

The captain turned to his friend for help.

"Daniel!" he called out his name, and the man immediately understood what his captain was asking from him.

He rushed to the girl and bound her arms in an attempt to force her to calm, but Ágnes kept on struggling nevertheless, a fight during which even her bandana fell off from her head. The first mate had to lift her off the ground by the waist, to somewhat limit her movement.

"Wake up already!" she screamed again, absolutely disregarding Daniel's hold on her. She was louder and more determined with every word. "Why the act!? I know you want me, I can see right through you!"

"What the hell is going on?" shouted Daniel. He tried to overvoice Ágnes' blabbering, and he did achieve this goal in a way, when the girl's kicking feet found its way to his knee.

"Lass, calm down!" The captain was very worried, scared even, unable to picture what is going on inside the head of Ágnes, or what is causing this episode. "What's wrong?"

"It is the Death! They are alive!" With that said, Ágnes struck the knee of her captor once more. Daniel dropped her out of pain, after which the girl stood up and continued to throw whatever pebbles were left in her palm. "Get away from me!"

No other course of action was left available for the captain, this has went too far already. He grabbed the girl by the left shoulder, turned her around, and with that motion, a fatherly slap found its way to Ágnes' cheeks. The girl almost fell over from the strength; the hit definitely shook her stand. Dusty, bloodstained fingertips reached up for her face, as Ágnes tried to cover up the pain. Not even Daniel was expecting this move, he never saw his captain hit anyone, much less a woman. Sure, the old salt had his own unique way of an eye-for-an-eye, but this was still unexpected.

He picked up the bandana from the ground, dusted it off, and then handed it over to the captain, who was now fixing up Ágnes' hair, entangled in the struggle.

"Now..." said the man in a calm tone, about to tie up the bandana for a second time. "Let us start it over again. What is the matter?"

Ágnes did not answer immediately, the shock was still echoing through her being. She was staring down at the ground, a sorrow filled heart, unable to look her captain in the eye.

"The skeletons... " she finally muttered after a deep breath, albeit on tears' edge. "They are alive. They hunt us. Like a blue fire, that burns away life. Like a choking hold, that does not let go..."

One too many words that was for those, who are able to connect with the past, and so the captain immediately thought of the weird bruises that dots the girl's neck. Daniel on the other hand was faster to shrug off these supernatural claims.

"What a load of nonsense."

"I am not lying!" fought back Ágnes with all her resolve.

Suddenly, the girl felt a gentle touch on her head. The captain removed her bandana, careful not to pull any strands of hair, and in turn tied it around Ágnes' neck as a scarf, hiding away the beast's mark.

"I think it will suit you much better here, lass."

The man's attention was then turned towards the remains at the pillar. They were still watching, motionless. Some of them had their head tilted, as if they were questioning the weird behavior of the living, unable to understand. The captain then took out the last, rather large stone from the hand of Ágnes and stepped forward, ready for the throw.

"So, are you saying they are alive?"

"You believe that story?" Daniel was quick with the interruption, though the captain only smirked at his inquire.

"At this point, I am willing to believe anything."

His muscles tightened, gathering up all the strength they could muster. The man kind of felt like he was standing on the beach, skipping pebbles across the waves to spend some time from his youth again. Then, with the end of the sweet memory and a precise target in mind, the stone was sent on its way with such am incredible force, that it broke straight through the forehead of one of the skeletons. Azure flames sprouted from the skull, then the being jumped up, voicelessly screaming from the pain, as the damaged lights flickered behind its eye sockets. Daniel and the captain both recoiled from the scare, but in just moments, the creature fell to its pieces as the flames escaped. Its demise was not welcome however, as soon as the empty skull fell on the ground, the azure lights lit up inside of the rest.

Their cover was blown, the prey knows.

"Shiver my gods, what in the seven seas are those creeps!?" shouted Daniel, absolutely unable to build up a cohesive sentence. The words simply flew out of his mouth, he had no control over them.

"That might be the most accurate description of the situation thus far." answered the captain.

"It's the Death..." said Ágnes, frozen in place, as she watched how the creatures rise up. "The silent Death."

"Well allow me to personally congratulate to you!" exclaimed the first mate with anxious anger, turning towards his captain. "I knew if there was anyone on this world who could piss off even the dead, it would be you!"

The man just laughed.

"You say that as if it would be a problem." He watched how the skeletons slowly assemble themselves into an orderly fashion, ready to engage their prey in a never-ending hunt. "But, I have a plan!"

Daniel raised up one of his eyebrows in disbelief.

"We run?"

"As fast as we can."

 **I-I**

The servants of Death leaned forward, ready to lunge at their prey, and this was the sign for the men to stop standing by idly.

"Back to the city!" the captain ordered. "We'll lose them among the streets!"

And with that said, he ran ahead, back to the winding roads of this once mighty land. He wanted to show the way for the others to follow, but he did not anticipate the group not to start as a whole. Daniel himself only turned his back on the lost fight when the skeletons began their chase, though Ágnes was missing from his side, so even he had to stop after the first few heartbeats. The man turned around and found the girl still standing in place, unable to move, while the creatures closed the distance as fast as the wind. The first of the silent death jumped up in the air, its flaming hand was ready to burn away the life she had, yet Ágnes did not retreat, her limbs did not answer to her fears. Azure lights shone into her eyes as the flaming fingertips reached in within inches of her face, but then the creature was gone, slammed away by a barrel thrown in its way. The horrible creature fell to the ground, disoriented, and this small time window was more than enough for Dan to step in and grab Ágnes by the hand.

"You are unbearable!" he snapped at her.

The first mate tried to run away with her, pull her out of danger, but the girl's body was still rigid, paralyzed by fear. Seeing no other option on this thin line between life and death, the man held Ágnes into his embrace and with a swift move picked her up before the rest of the enemy could reach.

In the meantime, the captain was more than capable to quickly devise a plan of escape. There was a shoehorn street just a few blocks ahead, which could potentially lead straight back to the docks if the right ways are chosen. Thankfully, the layout of this city did not elude him, even in these later stages of his sailing days, so the perfect and most straightforward route was guaranteed, no mistakes. The problem was that any and all lead they got ahead of the creatures was gone with the lacking of Ágnes and Daniel, and even if they were to make it in time together, there would be no chance to warn the rest of the crew. The captain knew that, so did Daniel, there was no need for words to understand each other.

In spite of the distance between the two, a single nod was enough from both sides to seal this new, unspoken plan. The captain ran ahead as fast as he could to get out of sight of the enemy, to warn the others, then Daniel, with Ágnes firmly in his hold, took a quick turn to the left, baiting away the horde. It is his sacrifice that will allow the men to prepare. It is his sacrifice that will give them a fighting chance.

Street after street, alleyway after alleyway, Daniel made sure that the enemy can't catch up to them, yet stays on their tail. The longer he keeps the creatures busy the more time the captain gets to organize a proper counterattack. That is, if the docks themselves aren't invaded, but such thoughts were needless. Truth or a lie, these are the only enemies they have to face right now, this is what he made himself believe on the spot, this is what made him keep on running and never stop. However, his stamina was not that of a god. Exhaustion eventually showed its ugly face, tried to confide those legs that were running from their fate. As his strength drew empty, and the skeletons reached closer, Daniel took a sharp turn into another alleyway, next to a warehouse. Boxes and barrels filled the tight space, containers that no longer had the chance to fit into the main building, and this proved to be the greatest opportunity that the man could use to his advantage. Daniel braced for impact.

The man's shoulder had just enough force to dislocate one of the piles. Losing their balance, the stacks came crashing down upon the attackers with the fury of a treacherous storm. The noise was deafening, but the man did not stop there, he only took a few quick glimpses to make sure the road is blocked, and then continued on his way.

The next time Ágnes' bare feet felt the solid touch of the ground was at the shore; that was the place where the first mate finally came to a stop. He took a long deserved breather, washed off the sweat from his face, and let the cold waves of the sea refresh his tired body. The skeletons were cut off from their tail, they were clear of danger, but Daniel wasn't the kind of man who took chances. There was no time to laze around, they had to follow the shoreline back to the port as soon as they were able to.

"Why?" Ágnes asked, breaking the peace of silence. Her voice carried no power, no strength. She had long accepted the fate, which Daniel has denied from both of them. "Why are you trying to save me?"

"Shouldn't I?"

Ágnes lowered her head and sat down onto the rocky surface. Of course, she wanted to live, but Death will always find a way, running away is meaningless. She saw it in her dream too, everything will perish. There is no stopping them, so why resist? They will hunt, they will find and they will end this.

"If I knew you'd more likely want to die out there, I wouldn't have carried your booty all the way through the streets. In fact, you could have been a pretty good bait for all of us." Daniel comically paused for a moment to recollect his thoughts. "But then again, if I did that, our 'dear' captain would damn throw me off the ship most likely."

Ágnes couldn't help it, she just had to imagine the man falling face first into the ocean, and this loveable fantasy was able to squeeze out heartfelt laugh from her.

"Is this how you try to cheer people up?" she asked.

The man shrugged it off, though the girl's laugh did annoy him to an extent.

"I do my best."

Following a few brief moments, Ágnes finally felt her spirit revived again. She knelt down to the water, and washed her hands from that disgusting mixture of blood and dirt. This was a time of cleansing; this was a time of putting an end to this sinful thinking.

"I would advise you to hurry up," the girl has heard from behind. "We have company!"

Daniel saw the heralds of Death turning out from the corner, just a few streets away from them, so there was not much time left for idle banter. The pack was fast, unrelenting, with clear sight on their target objectives. Ágnes jumped up in her scare, and her gaze immediately met with the man's terrified stare. There was only one route to safety from here, and that was in a straight line, alongside the coast all the way. And so, the pair had begun their run against their fate, holding each other's hands so that none of them will be left on this path astray.


End file.
